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Syria

October 16, 2026

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An attendee walks past signage displayed inside the venue for the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 14, 2026. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images)

Syria to rejoin Arab group at IMF, leaving Russian-led constituency

Syria will rejoin the Arab constituency at the International Monetary Fund beginning Nov. 1 and has applied for membership in the EBRD.

Mihrac Ural, who was also known as Ali Kayali, was arrested

Explainer

Syria arrests Mihrac Ural, ex-Assad militia head also wanted by Turkey

The Turkey-born militia chief and a longtime ally of the Assad-regime, was sought by Ankara over the deadly Reyhanli bombings and by Damascus over his alleged role in massacres on the Mediterranean coast.

In first, Israel’s Netanyahu says he held call with Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa

It is the first publicly disclosed contact between the leaders of Israel and Syria, which lack formal relations and have fought several wars. Sharaa’s government began US-mediated talks with Israel in 2025.

Demonstrators ride through a street while waving Syrian flags

Analysis

Why Syria and Iraq are taking different approaches to armed groups

In a break from past policies, the new governments in Damascus and Baghdad are clamping down on militant groups with the capacity or desire to harm regional partners.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Latest News

Culture

Syria reopens Aleppo's 1,300-year-old Great Umayyad Mosque after 13 years

A view of the Great Umayyad Mosque during the reopening ceremony, Oct. 8, 2026.

Analysis

Why Syria sending troops to Yemen would be a risky bet for Sharaa

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh, Oct. 6, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Culture

Syria's Kurds, Arabs find common cause in battle for language rights

Youths play the daf, an Iranian frame drum, during a protest demanding the right to education in the Kurdish language in Al-Qamishli, Syria, on September 22, 2026. The demonstrations follow a decision by the Syrian Interim Government to allocate only Kurdish language classes in schools. (Photo by Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Cagatay Cebe

In Istanbul, reporting on security and counterterrorism

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Los Cabos, Mexico, June 18, 2012. The leaders are in Los Cabos to attend the G20 summit. REUTERS/Jason Reed (MEXICO - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR33TY7

Russia, The US and Syria After the Boston Bombing

Vladimir Putin can remind Barack Obama that in Syria, as in Chechnya, misreading the essential nature of an insurgency has its price, writes Fyodor Lukyanov.

A damaged church is seen in the old city of Homs September 30, 2012. Picture taken September 30, 2012. REUTERS/Shaam News Network/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR38NET

Syria’s Christians ThreatenedBy Ideology, Geography

Attacks against Syria’s Christians are not only motivated by extremist Islamic ideology, but also because of the strategic area in which they live, writes Jean Aziz.

A view shows debris along a street of damaged buildings by what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Homs April 8, 2013. Picture taken April 8, 2013. REUTERS/Thair al-Khalidi/Shaam News Network/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVER

Battle for Qusair Key Front in Syria War

The aim of the battles raging on the Syria-Lebanon border near Qusayr is directly tied to the war in Syria, writes Jean Aziz.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel (L) and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army General Martin Dempsey (R) testify before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee in Washington April 16, 2013. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTXYNPQ

US Not Considering Arms To Syrian Rebels

The Obama administration resists congressional pressure for military aid to the Syrian rebels; Al-Monitor writers take on the case of Fazil Say and the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Shi'ite, Sunni Muslim and Druze Lebanese clerics listen to Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addressing his supporters during a rally to commemorate Martyrs' Day in Beirut, February 16, 2013. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DVC0

What Is the Extent of Hezbollah's Involvement in Syria?

While Hezbollah claims that it has sent militants to Syria to protect Lebanese citizens living in border towns, there are conflicting reports regarding the size and purpose of the party’s involvement, writes Elie Hajj.

Lebanon's Hezbollah members carry the coffin of a Hezbollah member during his funeral in Ansar village near Baalbek city October 8, 2012. Hezbollah gave no details about their deaths but sources in Baalbek said they and another Hezbollah man were killed near a Syrian border town where rebels are fighting Assad's forces. REUTERS/Ahmed Shalha (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR38X93

Encroaching Syrian Conflict Pits Hezbollah Against Jabhat al-Nusra

Border villages of Hezbollah-backed Shiites sympathetic to Assad are clashing with the Sunni Jabhat al-Nusra, reports an Al-Monitor correspondent in Beirut.

Interview photo-001.jpg

EU Official: ‘We Don’t See the End’ Of Syria Crisis

In an interview with Al-Monitor, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Dr. Kristalina Georgieva says Syria "is the crisis that makes me lose my sleep."

Free Syrian Army fighters pose for a picture on a tank, that they claim to have seized from the Syrian Regime forces, in Homs April 5, 2013 in this picture provided by Shaam News Network. Picture taken April 5, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Ibrahim/Shaam News Network/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY)

ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRI

Is Syria Moving Toward Partition?

There have been indications in recent weeks that Syria is moving toward partition, writes Jean Aziz.

Pro-Kurdish BDP party supporters attend a rally in support of Syrian Kurds in Viransehir February 3, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3DAO0

Turkey’s Kurdish Initiative May Affect Syria's Kurds

Cengiz Candar writes on the relationship between Turkey's peace initiative and its policies in Syria.

A general view of the crowd carrying coffins of Lebanese Islamist militants after their bodies arrived from Syria, in Tripoli, northern Lebanon December 22, 2012. Funerals will be held in Lebanon for three Lebanese Islamist militants killed while fighting with rebels in Syria. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3BU8U

Lebanon’s Shiites BeginTo Question Hezbollah

Following the funerals of Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria while fighting for the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, some Lebanese Shiites are questioning their exact role in the conflict, writes Elie Hajj.

Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters wave flags during a rally to commemorate Martyrs' Day in Beirut, February 16, 2013. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DVBY

The Reasons Behind Hezbollah’s Decision to Fight in Syria

Despite the natural alliance between Shiites in Lebanon and the Syrian regime, some Lebanese are reconsidering the merits of sending their young men to die in Syria, writes an Al-Monitor correspondent in Beirut.

A Druze man uses binoculars as he looks towards Syria from part of an abandoned military outpost near the Druze village of Buqata in the Golan Heights July 24, 2012. The Syrian government is still in full control of its chemical weapons stockpiles, Israeli defence officials said on Tuesday, in an apparent bid to calm fears that a non-conventional war could be looming. Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally. REUTERS/Ronen

Golan's Druze DividedOn the Syrian Struggle

Shlomi Eldar reports from the Golan Heights that Druze there are just as divided about events in Syria as residents of the country.